Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Larry Bell

One of my favorite climate change deniers is Larry Bell. Bell is an architecture professor that fancies himself an expert on climate change. Actually, he is a master of spinning and false argument. His articles in Forbes magazine and found on Forbes.com are highly deceitful. They are full of inaccuracies and outright lies. But, he is very effective at convincing people to believe in his message, no matter how much in error it is.

This is where people need to step back, take a deep breath and do a little homework into what Bell says. When you make a little effort what happens is his arguments fall apart very quickly. The simple fact is there is never any science to back up Bell's claims. When he claims there is, a quick check shows that it is just not the case. Take a look at this review of Bell by the climatologists (real scientists, unlike Bell) at RealClimate.org

One of Bell's patrons in Senator James Inofe (R-OK) who is perhaps the biggest climate change denier in the Senate. Not coincidentally, he is the biggest recipient of donations from the fossil fuel industry, including Saudi Arabia (indirectly). Really, do you think the Saudis have our best interests at heart? These are the guys that funded Al Qaeda and danced in the streets on 9/11. Inofe receives money from them, mostly via The Heartland Institute and other institutes, and Bell toes the line drawn by Inofe. What does that tell you about Bell and his message?

But, people keep reading him, believing in his message, and normally respectable magazines like Forbes continue to pay him to write articles. There is the problem. No matter how false the statement, people continue to believe it. In short, they believe what they want to believe. Bell is selling what they want to buy so they welcome him with open arms.

I have had discussions with climate change deniers and they without fail pull out some tired old statement that has been proven false. But, when I tell them it is false and show them why it is false, they don't want to believe me. I can show the scientific evidence proving the denier claims are false, but it doesn't matter. I like to ask them, 'What will make you believe climate change is real?". Usually, they will prevaricate without giving a straight answer, but I have had some tell me, straight out, "Nothing." At least they are being honest. If you are reading Larry Bell and you believe what he says, then you are probably in that camp. If that is the case, why are you even reading Bell's columns, or anyone else's, for that matter? You have already decided you are smarter than the 97% of climate change scientists that state manmade climate change is real.

So, I have to ask you, if you are a climate change denier, what will make you change your mind and believe in manmade climate change?